“On behalf of Americans for Financial Reform, we are writing to express our opposition to H.R. 3312, the “Systemic Risk Designation Improvement Act of 2017.” This legislation is a gift to some of the largest banks in the country. The cumbersome regulatory process laid out
The Department of Education’s decision to end information sharing with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is a betrayal of students and a boon to loan servicers with a history of preying on those students.
AFR Response to FHFA LEP RFI Maintaining information on language preference over the entire life of the loan is critical because borrowers need to interact with their lenders and servicers at many different times over the life of a loan. Further, we argued that universally
“The payday rule is seen as one of the last major Cordray-era regulatory proposals that haven’t been finalized, and consumer advocacy groups and liberal Democrats who support the CFPB have also been supportive of the rule proposal as a key measure to prevent consumers from getting mired in debt. Jose Alcoff, campaign organizer at Americans for Financial Reform, defended the bureau’s approach to the payday loans issue. ‘It’s been 29 months since the proposal was first outlined, and 15 since it was formally put to the public… We do need a rule soon to curb these abuses.’”
“This lapse calls for new congressional hearings on Wells Fargo, according to 33 consumer groups. Led by Americans for Financial Reform and Public Citizen, two left-leaning consumer organizations, the groups sent a letter late Thursday to leadership of the Senate Banking Committee and the House Financial Services Committee urging them to bring Wells Fargo executives back to Capitol Hill to answer questions about the bank’s stream of abuses.”
“‘Wells Fargo used forced arbitration clauses and class-action bans to hide abuses and prevent its customers from securing justice or even realizing that problems the bank causes them are widespread,’ said Lisa Donner, executive director of Americans for Financial Reform. ‘It now appears that they have also tried to hide the breadth of problems inside the bank, even in the face of direct questions from members of Congress. Leaders of the relevant committees should be demanding answers and further hearings to get them.’”
Cutting corporate tax rates, a main purpose of the tax proposals would disproportionately benefit big banks. Goldman Sachs is a dominant voice in the Trump administration thanks to appointees like Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and White House economic adviser Gary Cohn.
“Americans for Financial Reform… noted that the [Treasury] report followed recommendations from The Clearing House, a powerful trade association, in 31 out of 40 specific cases. In some instances, the language of the government and the language of the lobbyists was hard
to tell apart… ‘We’ve reached a point in this administration when big banks and private-equity funds have placed so many people in the top jobs, they hardly need to worry about lobbyists and trade associations any more,’ says Jim Lardner, a senior fellow at AFR”.
“By making the fiduciary duty commitment stronger and more specific, these Proposed Revisions to the Standards For Professional Conduct for Certified Financial Planners will enhance CFP client service and assure the public that CFP professionals will reliably act in the best interests of the investor. We strongly support their inclusion in the final revisions to the Standards, and urge the CFP Board to resist any pressures to weaken them.”
“This Wells Fargo case is yet another demonstration of the harm consumers will suffer if Congress chooses to repeal the CFPB arbitration rule and restore banks’ ‘Get out of Jail Free card.,” said Lisa Donner, Executive Director for Americans for Financial Reform. “It is also yet another reminder why lawbreaking banks are pushing for the rule to be overturned: blocking consumers right to go to court makes it easier for them to rip people off.”